Incoming? Kalvin Phillips

[MartBlade]

What good is showing it in training if he's never on the pitch?

For all the derision Soumare get's he contributed 100 times more than Phillips did last season and if we're bringing anyone back I'd take Soumare over Phillips any day of the week.

I liked Soumare … he made some typical young player mistakes but he showed enough to suggest he can become a really good box to box midfielder combining good physical attributes with some silky touches at times.
The price seemed to be a bit too steep but he has definite potential.

 

[itsinyerblood]

Funny thing is, he’s gone onto great things yet when we were in the Premier League we were quite positively comparing Fleck to him that first season and the promotion one and we were right at the time.

Sadly one has been hampered by injuries whilst the other has really kicked on.

Well remembered, the comparison between Fleck and McGinn was a talking point (at least on here).
The thing is it was a genuine comparison as Fleck was coming into his peak, and it was a standard that
underlined Flecks importance (alongside Coutts and Duffy) to where we were and where we hoped to be.
There's no doubt that Fleck was exceptional, such a pity that injury prevented him from fulfilling his promise.

 

[Weasel]

I liked Soumare … he made some typical young player mistakes but he showed enough to suggest he can become a really good box to box midfielder combining good physical attributes with some silky touches at times.
The price seemed to be a bit too steep but he has definite potential.

Agree. But the price tag to make it permanent had to be so much cheaper. He was so raw, if he was a steak he would still be moooing.

I liked him, but as soon as it was obvious that we had blown the season up, he was never going to sign under the existing deal for that £7m permanent fee and he was gone. Even when CW put him in, he would look pretty decent and then look honking (as a lot of young players do). Problem was he wasnt then a long term investment or player we needed to develop as he wasnt going to be ours come May. He will be a better player for this experience, and i can see him being a decent xhampionship level player in the future. If we still had those parachute pymts then he might have been worth a cheeky £3m take it or leave it bid, but we have other fish to fry now with what money we so have. A shame but is life.